The Episcopal

Diocese of Lexington

Coldwater Creek: crisis, not catalogue

The Advocate, November 2000

By Kay Collier-Slone

The sludge sill in Eastern Kentucky ha been reported by first hand observers and environmental officials as “a major environmental disaster”; “the worst ecological disaster in the southeast” and “as great a disaster as Exxon Valdez.” On November 6, the Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls, Bishop of Lexington, contacted clergy of the diocese requesting information on needs in churches and communities related to the coal sludge spill. “Can the diocese help in your work related to these matters?” the Bishop asked.

A similar request came to the Rev. Johnnie Ross, rector of St. James’, Prestonsburg, and the chair of the department for Ministry with Small Churches, from Dick Shore, head of the Emergency Relief Efforts office for the National Presbyterian Church. Ross, a native of the area with a long professional association with environmental issues, attempted to contact Disaster Emergency Services, the Martin County Coal Corporation office (a subsidiary of the NYSE Flour Company of California) and the coal company coordinator for relief. Ross e-mailed the following response to the Bishop and clergy of the Diocese on November 8 Ross states: “The mess in Martin County that was created by the coal company is being 'quietly' handled by them and the local officials—why? Only God knows. But I have been in touch with coal company officials and the county judge executive to offer assistance with providing for the needs of the people. Drinking water is being brought in at the moment, which they report as their only need. I have friends who live near there, and I know firsthand of the mess that exists. Last week I had a meeting in Huntington and as I crossed the Levisa Fork near Ashland, the river was black. The electric power plant near Ashland is having water to run the plant brought in by barge, because the water is so contaminated with sediment. At the moment, there have been no drinking water wells reported contaminated and for that we can be thankful.”

On November 14, The Advocate asked Ross in a telephone interview to substantiate e-mail reports of roadblocks and “selection” of persons to enter the affected areas. Ross verified that it is “very difficult to get on site—they are very selective whom they let in.” In response to inquiry regarding damage to property, Ross told The Advocate that while homes had not been destroyed to his knowledge, that the greatest impact was on sewage treatment systems to homes that are primarily on septic tanks, and cannot be treated properly until after the clean-up. The coal company has reportedly assisted some residents in finding hotel rooms when necessary.

Personal Accounts

The Advocate also received by e-mail a personal account of a trip to Wolf Creek and Coldwater Creek in Martin County written by conservationist David Cooper of Lexington. Following an afternoon spent “taking pictures of the sludge spill and talking to people involved in the clean-up” Cooper went on-line with his account under the headline “Feel free to circulate this.” Late Tuesday evening The Advocate located Cooper to substantiate his report and received permission for publications.

“I was totally unprepared for the extent of the damage. This is a major environmental catastrophe. The Big Sandy is black all the way from Catlettsburg to the headwaters. There is goo ranging from several inches to several feet thick along the entire length of the two smaller Martin County streams. Authorities are blocking the road so that no “outsiders” including the news media can have access.”

“A few observations: It would not be an overstatement to state that every living thing in the two smaller streams is now dead. Don’t know about the Big Sandy; I would guess it’s in serious trouble. A clean-up worker (vacuum truck operator) got trapped in the creek bed earlier this week and was buried up to his chest and other workers pulled him out. He said his feet never touched the bottom and he would have sunk in the quicksand if he hadn’t been rescued. They are digging pits along the stream and vacuuming up the sludge from the creek and dumping it in these pits which are about 1-2 acres and 10 feet deep. We saw at least five of these pits. Supposedly they will treat the sludge I the pits with emulsifiers and then pump the clean water back into the stream and haul off the sludge. Probably to another sludge pond somewhere. I would expect this clean-up to go on for at least a year at the rate they are going. It is a huge mess and their efforts aren’t even making a dent.

“The Ohio River will be impacted for months in my opinion. We talked to a homeowner on Wolf Creek, which has less damage than Coldwater Creek (two separate watersheds affected—both creeks flow together in Inez.) She stated that they had been calling the coal company for about a week and they wouldn’t even talk to her, they were too busy on Coldwater Creek. About 2/3 of her backyard is coated in sludge at least six inches deep and several feet deep in places. The sludge pulls the boot off your feet. Homeowners do not appear to be organized yet, or have nay idea what to do. Supposedly damage is much worse on Coldwater Creek but they wouldn’t let us back there. Martin County Judge-executive has closed the tow roads leading to the spill. We navigated around using the County Map Atlas. It is about a three-hour drive form Lexington using the Mountain Parkway.

Messy…as Valdez

“The clean-up operation looks just as gooey and messy as Exxon Valdez. You can see the ‘high water’ mark (black line) on the trees along the creek bank, about 3-5 about the current level. There were animal tracts in the goo leading to the creek. I imagine that a great number of raccoons, possums, etc., have gotten stuck in the goo like the La Brea tar pits in California. Any animal that drank form the creek would probably die. The water is totally black. The sludge has settled in the creek bed several feet thick and the water just makes a little channel in the muck and flows on top of the sludge. They are never going to get this all cleaned up. They are using brooms, hay bales, vacuum trucks, building temporary rock dams to try and create ‘setting ponds.’ Water utilities are going to have to deal with this residual sediment for months if not years. They are draining a reservoir in Inez that will only last about a month; after that where are they going to get their water?

“This is being described as the worst environmental disaster in the southeast in recent memory. For some reason, it is not receiving any attention from the national press. ‘Who cares? It’s Eastern Kentucky.’”

Rough holidays

In the telephone interview, Cooper stated that of the families in Coldwater Canyon, some 20 were “inundated” with sludge which would take approximately six months to a year to clear. “It’s really distressing. It will be a rough Thanksgiving and Christmas for these people.” Cooper’s goal in dispensing the information is to have the Martin County area declared a federal disaster area. “The Governor has declared it a state disaster area. We need to get Governor Patton to ask the President to declare a federal disaster area, as it has been for other natural disasters—call FEMA in and get cleaned up. This is not something that need to be downplayed.”

Photos of the slurry spill can be viewed at www.appalshop.org/cmi.

The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Lexington cares, and stands ready to help.

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